Tuesday, 6 July 2010

Take a look in your makeup bag. Now try and find your
favorite lip gloss with your eyes closed.

Can you do it or do you find yourself running into other
makeup, possibly even things you haven't used in months or -
eek! - years? If so, it's time to reorganize your beauty
product collection.

Don't worry, it won't take long and this article won't turn
you into some super-organized, Type-A nitwit. We've just got
some simple tips to take your beauty projects from
disorganized and questionable to clean and ready for
anything!

First, toss out anything older than six months. This is the
time span most makeup professionals suggest discontinuing
use of any eye makeup products.

The point of the six-month rule is to keep you from getting
an eye infection, but it's a good rule of thumb for all yourbeauty products.

Not sure how long to keep something? Check your products.
Many now feature a small trash can icon with a number. That
number tells you how many months to hang onto a product.
Also, if you haven't used the item in so long you can't
remember the last time it saw daylight, save yourself some
space in that bag and toss it!

Next, clean up your brushes. Makeup brushes are also
notorious for hanging onto skin infections and dead skin
cells. Without proper cleaning, this can lead to breakouts.

Before you use them on another beauty product, clean them up
with warm water and a mild soap. Leave them on your bathroom
counter to dry overnight. If you don't have time to do them
by hand, give them a spin in the dishwasher.

Once they're all clean, store them together in a small pouch
inside your makeup bag or even stand them up in a small glass
on your counter or dresser.

Finally, designate one area for each type of beauty product.
In other words, put eye makeup with other eye products and
lip gloss and lipsticks together.

You can stash everything in small bundles tied together with
a hair tie inside your bag or in one place in your makeup
prep area. That way, when you're doing your makeup, you'll
only have to look one place for each type of item as you go
about your routine.

Dust off or clean each item with a cotton pad or cotton swab
and you're good to go!